Heroes
by bionic4ever
Summary: SUR2: Steve and Jaime just want their children to have a normal life.
1. Chapter 1

**Heroes**

Chapter One

The Austins entered their home for the first time as a family of four with each parent carrying one five-day-old twin. Lauren slept peacefully in Jaime's arms. James, however, wasn't quite so complacent. The instant Steve took him from the car, he began to wail, seeming to get louder with each step his father took.

"Jaime? I...think something's wrong with him."

"He's _crying_ - babies tend to do that sometimes."

"What if he's sick?" Steve asked, sitting on the sofa next to his wife.

Jaime smiled serenely. "He's not sick."

"Is he hungry?"

"They both had a bottle before we left the hospital."

"Maybe you should take him. I think he wants Mommy."

"Mommy's hands are full," Jaime laughed. "And what he probably wants is a fresh diaper."

"Should you...?"

"I'm pretty sure you can handle it."

He was clumsy at first, his nerves getting the better of him, but within a week, Steve was able to diaper one twin while giving the other a bottle. He was doing exactly that when, on the twins' two-week birthday, they had a special visitor.

"You're getting pretty good at that, Pal - I'm impressed."

"Hi, Oscar. Business or pleasure?" Steve couldn't tell by his face, as the OSI director was making googly-eyes at the twins. Jaime came up behind him and watched for a minute, amused. She was wondering the same thing Steve was, since 'Uncle Oscar' had already spoiled the babies with far too many gifts - including two nearly life-sized stuffed pandas - and today he'd arrived in the big black car with a driver, generally reserved for OSI business.

First things first, though. She took newly-diapered Lauren and laid her down for a nap. Once Steve had coaxed a respectable burp from James, she efficiently but lovingly put him in his crib as well.

The adults retired to the den, where Jaime already had three mugs of coffee waiting. She looked at Oscar with her eyebrows raised, as if to say _So - get on with it._ She was not smiling.

"Relax, Jaime," Oscar told her. "It's not a mission."

"Don't think we're not happy to see you, Oscar," she responded. "You're practically family. But you didn't come out here in that car to make googly-eyes at our children."

Steve, seated next to Jaime with his arm already around her, pulled her a little closer. "Sweetheart, why don't we give him a chance to actually tell us." They both looked at Oscar expectantly.

"This morning, they completed rebuilding and reprogramming work on the Daedelus."

**_The Daedelus_**. Steve's face was expressionless, but Jaime's blood ran cold when she heard those words. Steve had been testing Daedelus when he crashed, nearly died and was subsequently made bionic.

"No. Uh-uh. Forget it, Oscar. James and Lauren's father will not be flying your billion dollar death trap," Jaime said firmly.

"Actually, Sweetheart," Steve began, "I think they've passed two billion by now."

"Two and a half," Oscar corrected.

"I don't care. Find someone else." She knew how tempting this would be for Steve: a chance to beat the machine that had come so close to beating him.

Oscar shrugged. "Actually, I do have another pilot lined up. I just thought -"

"**_NO_**!"

Steve and Oscar exchanged glances. "You heard the lady..." Steve told him.

Oscar got up to go, sensing his friends were about to have one hell of a discussion. "If you change your mind before noon tomorrow, give me a call."

"He won't." When Oscar was gone, Jaime turned to Steve with a firmly set jaw and steel-like eyes.

"Jaime -"

"I'm sorry, but it's too risky. It's not just you and me anymore, Steve; we have a family to think about."

"I know that. But of all the planes I flew, all the projects I tested, Daedelus is the only one that ever kicked my ass."

"My point exactly. Besides, that was supposed to be your last flight - remember? You were gonna retire from playing Johnny Test Pilot."

"Yes - when I finished the job!" Steve began pacing the den. "Jaime, I don't want my last job - my legacy as a pilot - to have been a failure."

"It wasn't. You proved that their billion dollar baby was an unsafe, unstable death trap. Mission accomplished."

"Jaime, please just listen to -"

"No."

Steve sat back down and took her hand. "I just want to finish what I started," he said quietly. "I know that plane better than anyone else does. It's like...like she's my baby." He instantly realized his poor choice of words.

"Your baby?" Jaime jerked her hand from his. She was fuming. "Wrong! Your babies are in the next room, trusting that their daddy will be here for them, alive and in one piece, tomorrow, next week, next year! That piece of metal out on that airstrip damn near took your life!"

"They need me, Jaime -"

"James and Lauren need you. I need you." She looked directly into his face, her eyes angry, frightened and pleading, all at once. "Please?"

Steve took his wife gently into his arms and held her close for a very long time. He knew she was right; his family needed him. He was precisely where he belonged.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The twins grew quickly into toddlers, then hit the Terrible Twos together. Jaime and Steve would collapse into each other's arms at the end of each day, wondering how non-bionic parents could ever keep up. James and Lauren had developed an uncanny knack for taking off in opposite directions at full speed, seemingly dozens of times a day. Steve swore it was a game to them, while Jaime said they were asserting their independence - from each other as well as from their parents. Both parents were exhausted but blissfully happy.

The twins turned three, and their parents' patient, loving care was beginning to pay off in spades. Lauren and James were growing into bright, creative and (usually) polite kids. Their parents felt very lucky and extremely blessed.

Jaime and Steve were not retired from the OSI; not even on official leaves of absence anymore, but Oscar had somehow managed to grant them the time to bond and grow as a family, uninterrupted by business. They were both well aware that the reprieve was temporary, that Oscar could call for one - or both - of them at any time.

Four months after the twins' third birthday, that call finally came. Instead of 'Uncle Oscar' visiting in jeans and a pullover, Oscar Goldman arrived at their door, unannounced, in a suit and tie. Steve was being sent to South America to assist the DEA and FBI in bringing down an especially insidious drug ring.

Oscar waited until they were well away from the house to tell Steve the rest of the story. The ring was known to be ruthlessly violent, having already murdered two from the OSI, four FBI agents and five from the DEA. The Secretary had originally demanded both Steve and Jaime assigned to the case, but Oscar had convinced him that Steve would be more efficient alone, without having to worry about the safety of the mother of his children.

"I'm glad you kept the rest of this from Jaime," Steve told his boss. "I could see her physically blocking the door, not letting me go."

"Exactly."

------------

Steve was gone for just over two weeks, and managed to succeed where everyone before him had failed. While not every member of the ring was in custody, the lines of transport were crippled, communication systems destroyed and the group essentially brought to its knees.

He had missed his family terribly. The twins had flown out the door when they heard his car pull up, and barreled into him with so much enthusiasm, he was nearly tackled. Steve expected his wife to be thoroughly exhausted after caring for two lively kids on her own for 16 days, but she literally bounced out to see him, smiling happily, her eyes sparkling.

Jaime kissed him passionately, running her hands up his muscular chest before throwing her arms around him. After a long, deep kiss she whispered in his ear: "The twins have already eaten, and after they go to bed, I have a surprise for you!"

"Was that a preview?"

"Maybe..."

As eager as they both were for more, 'Daddy' time was top priority for all four of them. Lauren and James spent a joyful hour telling him every detail of the last two weeks. When Steve tucked them in, they were already half-asleep. Lauren rolled over and opened her eyes, remembering one more thing she needed to share.

"We got to play with Linda while Mommy talked to Doctor Rudy."

Steve was more than a little worried when he re-joined Jaime in the den. She'd had her standard check-up a few months earlier, and was in perfect health. She'd seemed ok when he left. Had the stress been too much for her? He sat down beside her and gently touched her face.

"Sweetheart, is everything ok?" he asked, deep concern in his voice and worry in his eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Fine," she answered as she unbuttoned his shirt. "Why?" Jaime twirled his chest hair with her fingers as she massaged his sinew-y muscles.

"Were you sick? Did you get hurt?" He'd been consumed with thoughts of her, desire to be close to her, since the day he'd left. If there was something wrong, though, why wasn't she telling him? "Lauren told me you had to see Rudy. Did something happen while I was gone?"

Jaime grinned happily. "No...this had to have happened while you were here." He still didn't get it. "Steve - I'm pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The twins entered a competitive phase at exactly the right time. They raced each other to bring Jaime a cold drink or a simple snack and tried to out-do each other in helping Steve set up and stock the nursery. When Jaime and Steve brought Hannah home, Steve called the twins outside so the new family of five could parade triumphantly into the house together. He spread a quilt on the floor of the den and snuggled close to his wife while they watched two four-year-olds compete for the attention of a newborn.

"Quite a family we have," Steve said, kissing Jaime tenderly.

"Sure is."

"Can I get you anything?"

Jaime smiled at him. "I have everything I need, right here."

------------

'Uncle Oscar' dropped by with another life-sized bear - this one a polar bear - for Hannah. Oscar Goldman showed up less than a week later. Jaime saw the suit, the car and the driver and tears poured silently down her face. She quietly went into the bedroom so she wouldn't upset the kids. It was less than two weeks since she'd given birth.

There was a quiet knock on the bedroom door before it opened. Jaime expected to see her husband, but Oscar joined her instead, closing the door.

"Babe, I'm so sorry," he told her quietly, "but this is urgent."

"It's always urgent, Oscar," she argued, losing the battle to control her emotions. "I just can't talk to you right now. Things I can't take back are gonna start coming out of my mouth."

"Jaime -"

"Please."

Oscar patted her shoulder sympathetically on his way out of the room. He truly had not wanted to drag Steve back to work this soon after Hannah's birth, but this was a genuine crisis. An unidentified group (thought to have splintered off from the ring Steve had squelched in South America) was planting snipers near the headquarters of the three agencies that had fought to bring them down. No one had been fatally wounded yet, but there'd been several serious injuries, and it was only a matter of time. Steve's eye, combined with his speed, would give the good guys a much-needed advantage. In order to succeed, though, Steve would be placing himself directly in the line of fire.

Steve said goodbye to his family, holding James and Lauren a little longer than usual and smothering Hannah with kisses. Jaime, having finally re-joined them, stood alone on the far side of the room, facing the wall. Steve sent the twins outside to play, accompanied by Oscar. He took his wife into his arms, turned her around and pulled her close. With everyone else gone, she was now sobbing openly.

"I called Mom and Dad," he told her. "They'll be here tonight, to help you with the kids 'til I get home."

"What if you don't...get home?" Jaime whispered. "I need you; our children need you. Please -"

"I'll be home before you know it," he said, gently brushing away her tears.

"Guaranteed?" Steve couldn't answer. "No," she concluded, "it never is." Jaime looked at him sadly, resigning herself to the situation. "Just - please - stay safe. And alive."

------------

Jim and Helen spent the next four days spoiling their grandchildren and forcing Jaime to do nothing but rest. On the fifth day, their smiles seemed wider and Jaime caught more than one conspiratorial glance passing between them. After lunch, Helen brought Hannah to her mother, who was sitting on the front porch.

"You look deep in thought, Dear," Helen noted. Jaime merely nodded. "Jim and I thought we'd leave the baby with you and take the twins to the park. Is that ok?"

Jaime nodded, pulling herself back from distraction to make baby babble at Hannah.

"Might take them to a matinee, too."

"Thanks, Helen - for everything."

Helen kissed Jaime's forehead, looked over her shoulder to wink at Jim, and was off to an afternoon of twin-spoiling. Less than 15 minutes later, Jaime's ear picked up the sound of a familiar large black car.

_What now, Oscar?_ she thought, annoyed. Then she grew frightened. _Oh God, he's coming to tell me something happened to Steve._ Jaime put the baby in a bassinet Helen had set up on the porch and stood on the top step, watching warily as the car made its way up the driveway.

She caught sight of him emerging from the car and couldn't help bursting into tears, crying with joy as Steve himself came up the stairs to pull her into his arms.

"When do you have to go back?" Jaime asked.

"I'm done."

"Already?"

Steve grinned. "If you cut the head off a giant first, the hands and feet are no problem."

"Colonel Austin, you are good."

"That's what they tell me."

Jaime and Steve were each so enthralled with the nearness of the other that neither noticed the red van that drove very slowly past the house then disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Several weeks after James and Lauren started kindergarten, their teacher asked for a conference with their parents. "Are they causing trouble?" Steve asked nervously.

"Not at all. This is a much happier problem. By chance, are either one of you a teacher?"

"I was supposed to be," Jaime told her, "but I never went back for certification. Why?"

"The twins know their letters and numbers, and can write their names and recite their phone numbers. They've even started to read. The problem is, there's very little I can teach them in this class. If we moved them into first grade now, I believe they would still be ahead."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jaime said firmly.

"Sweetheart -"

"I don't want them to grow up feeling different, or singled out; like freaks."

Steve understood immediately, and nodded his agreement. "Let's allow them to be leaders in their own age group, at least for now."

Jaime began meeting regularly with their teacher, charting their school activities as well as what they worked on at home, ensuring they remained challanged and excited about learning while still taking plenty of time to just be kids.

------------

It was a gloriously beautiful, crisp Fall day. Steve was raking leaves, getting so much 'help' from the twins that Jaime decided to take all three kids to the park, two blocks away. Steve was able to finish raking, mowed the lawn and was about to put the mower away when Lauren barreled into the yard, followed closely by James, pushing Hannah's stroller. All three children were crying frantically.

_Where was Jaime?_ Steve knelt down and circled his children with his arms. "Where's Mommy?" he asked, every cell in his body instantly on full alert.

James managed to gasp "I think - she - she went with the men!"

"Daddy," Lauren choked out between sobs, "they tried to take Hannah."

Steve quickly bundled them into the house and got on the phone. Oscar and an entire squadron of OSI and NSB agents arrived within minutes. Most of them stayed in their cars, prepared to instantly respond to any directive. Very gently, trying not to further upset his terrified children, Steve began coaxing the details from them.

Jaime had been on a park bench, watching the twins play on the swings, with Hannah's stroller beside her. Lauren saw the three men who came up behind her mother. One had grabbed the stroller, pulling it backwards and running toward the parking lot. Jaime tried to grab the handle and one of the men wrapped an arm around her neck from behind, restraining her in a tight chokehold, while the other tried to grab her arms. Jaime elbowed the one who was choking her, sending him to the ground. She shook off the other one and jumped high over the back of the bench, landing near the stroller, which she steadied and pushed out of reach.

"Take your sister and _RUN_!" Jaime called to the kids as all three men lunged for her. "Now! Go!" James grabbed the stroller and both twins began to run. James turned around for a split second, in time to see one of the men pull a gun and fire it at his mother.

"They shot her, Daddy, and she fell down, but she didn't bleed." James looked at his father with bewildered, frightened eyes.

Steve knew this meant one of two things: the bullet had hit bionics, or Jaime had been killed instantly. "James," he said, keeping his voice soft and calm, "did Mommy get back up?"

"No. But I looked back again, and the men were pulling her. All of them pulled her. I think she was trying to hit them, but she looked like she was gonna fall down."

"Then what happened?"

"I...don't know. Mommy told us to run...I'm sorry, Daddy."

Steve hugged his son and daughter as Peggy Callahan came in the front door. "Did either one of you see anything else? Where there any other men? Did you see their car?"

"It was one of those big fat cars, a round square one," James told him.

"A van," Lauren corrected.

"It was red. Daddy - I heard one of them tell Mommy she was just like her husband," James remembered.

"Was that before or after the gun?"

"After."

"And Daddy?" Lauren said quietly.

"Yes, Honey?"

"The little letters on the plate thing in the back -"

"The license plate?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. The letters almost spelled 'DOG'."

"Lauren, Sweetie, do you remember the letters?"

"D..." she closed her hards tightly, trying to remember. "G...O. Then some numbers. I know the letters 'cause they almost spelled 'dog'."

Steve glanced up at Oscar, and yes, Goldman was writing down every detail. "Kids, you are fantastic. Thank you so much for all your help. Now, do you remember Peggy?" The twins nodded, sniffling. "She's gonna stay here and play with you while I help Uncle Oscar and those men outside find Mommy." He hugged his kids and joined Oscar on the porch.

Goldman was already on the radio, relaying the information via an APB. "Red van, partial plate DGO plus digits. All units are to drop everything else and get on this one immediately. Find that van!"

It took only minutes for the radio to crackle back to life. "Unit Five - we have the van in sight. License DGO-278."

"Good work. Stay on them and wait for back-up."

Steve stood beside him, feeling new hope. "Oscar, from what I can figure, they were targeting me. From what James said, I'm guessing they were after bionics. Probably wanted to use the baby as a lure, and then when they shot Jaime, they realized they didn't need a lure, that she was bionic, too. James said he heard them say she was just like me."

"Some pretty brave kids you got there, Pal. Amazing. They're heroes, you know."

"Let's get Jaime home safely, first," Steve said. "Those 'brave and amazing' kids need their Mommy."

------------

The van was stopped about 35 miles from the park, and while the kidnappers were distracted by the G-men, Jaime, temporarily unguarded in the back, kicked out the rear doors and began to run. She didn't stop until she saw one particular black government car - Oscar's car - and, as she'd hoped, Steve got out first. In seconds, he had his wife safely in his embrace once again. An ambulance pulled up next to them, and Steve tried to ease her inside, where Rudy waited.

"I'm ok," she insisted. She looked up at Rudy. "I wanna go home to my kids. Just bandage it up - nothing's bleeding - and we can do a patch job tomorrow."

Rudy looked her over quickly and then agreed. While he was bandaging Jaime's shoulder, Steve filled her in on how her five-year-old twins had been instrumental in her speedy rescue.

"Wow," she marveled. "I knew they were smart. I mean, they take after me," she grinned at Steve, "But - wow."

"I think Disneyland's in order, once you're all put back together. Oscar said something about medals. Be cool to have Mickey Mouse present them," Steve suggested.

"Just this once, I think I can live with letting them be singled out," Jaime agreed.

"Sweetheart, I think they took care of that, all by themselves. They saved your life; they singled themselves out. Our little heroes." Steve took a long moment to kiss his wife, then helped her into Oscar's car. "Now, let's go home to our family."

END


End file.
